Integrated Schools

New York City has the most segregated school system in the nation. As policymakers, school officials, parents, and advocates engage in a growing dialogue about the value integrated classrooms can provide, charter schools face distinct challenges as they implement strategies to diversify their schools. The Charter Center has examined the methods individual schools have used to affect change and the steps elected officials and policymakers can take to support these efforts.

UNITING LEADERS TO CONFRONT CRISIS IN NYC PUBLIC SCHOOL SEGREGATION

Lower-income students, especially in communities of color, have suffered from an epidemic of school segregation that has been decades in the making. The problem has drawn some of the brightest minds in the district and charter school communities, but we united these diverse stakeholders to combine their expertise and experience, and set the city on a path to solving the problem.

“Because they are not tied to a zone, and don’t “belong” to any one neighborhood, charter schools can play a key role in moving to desegregate our school system as a whole. We now have a number of charter schools that are doing just that.” – James Merriman, CEO, New York City Charter School CenterPress Release, November 2, 2015

Related News & Resources

As the last school year was ending, Chancellor Carmen Fariña announced the city’s long-awaited plan to increase diversity and combat segregation in its public schools. It’s now three months later; students are back in school. Yet little progress has been made in implementing the Education Department’s much-needed plan.

Last week, one million public school students across New York City entered their classrooms for the start of the new year. While these students are, as a whole, an incredibly diverse bunch—with no racial majority and three-quarters of students coming from low-income backgrounds—few students attend schools that reflect that diversity.

The effort reflects a growing interest in New York and beyond in establishing charter schools that enroll students from a mix of backgrounds, which research suggests can benefit students and is considered one remedy to school segregation.

Former Success Academy lawyer Emily Kim says integration will be a “key” aspect in the design of the charter chain she is aiming to launch. Kim recently left New York City’s largest network of charter schools to start her own — and given her close ties to Success, Kim’s schools are likely to be closely watched.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña announced a new diversity plan this week that includes many commonsense reforms, as well as an advisory group that will gather community input and examine additional proposals to lessen the racial and socioeconomic segregation still too prevalent in New York City schools.

America grows more diverse every day. In the future, today’s young people will need to be able to thrive amid a multiplicity of nationalities, perspectives and practices; our society and economy count on it. But too many of our public schools continue to isolate students from peers and adult role models of different backgrounds.

According to a 2014 study by the UCLA Civil Rights Project, New York City’s schools are the most segregated in the entire nation. To fix this problem, we need to set aside petty squabbles and work together.